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British channel E4 have looked to Apple and its soon to be released iPad for inspiration and parody in this new promo.

Mocking Apple’s product videos this new spot jumps on board the iPad hype machine with their very own, if not slightly bulkier alternative, the ePad.

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Tony Robinson, Kevin McCloud, David Starkey and Jon Snow take part in a pub quiz, terrifying their fellow patrons in the process, and backing up More4’s claim of being ‘really quite clever’.

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Since 1993 Channel 4 has been offering viewers an alternative to the Queen’s Christmas message. With the likes of Ali G, Jamie Oliver and even Marge Simpson delivering a speech it’s generally been a rather tongue-in-cheek event.

This year however Channel 4 decided to court controversy with their decision to approach Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (who was so beautifully satirised by SNL here) to deliver the address.

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The studio ident for Film4 Productions is a new take on the “Channel 4 formula”, that sees the logo slowly revealed to the viewer through the magic of perspective.

Check out more from Film4, or just more studio idents.

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Last week Channel 4’s digital sibling More4 launched the Stanley Kubrick season, a ten day film festival of some of the celebrated directors work. This stunning promo was shot in one long take, and is a look behind the scences of Kubrick’s 1980 film The Shining, all from the perspective of the director himself.

The spot produced by Channel 4 Creative, was meticulously researched and was even shot using the directors favourite lens. Truly fitting for such a influential filmmaker.

British television seems to love the idea of programming “seasons”. More4 won an award for this promo used for their State of Russia season a few years back, and earlier this year BBC Four took its viewers on a trip into the Medieval mind.

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A few hours ago Channel 4 broadcast what The Guardian is calling Britain’s first ever live commercial during a break in the reality show Come Dine With Me. The three minute ad came live from the skies above Spain and featured a team of professional skydivers demonstrating Honda’s latest tagline “Difficult Is Worth Doing”.

The live nature of television is one of its biggest redeeming features, and while this commercial is certainly full of the novelty factor, its an example of the innovation that not only the advertising industry will have to adopt, but also the whole television sector in general.

For more advertising fun check out a new show that started this week on ABC1 called The Gruen Transfer, a very funny and interesting look into the industry. Or just check out some of my favourite ads, here and here.

- Thanks for the video Craig

UPDATE: Around 168,000 additional viewers tuned in to see Honda’s ambitious commercial go live to air, bringing the total audience to 2.2 million.

UPDATE 2: Various reports have suggested that the plane crashed after shooting the commercial, killing two. The Telegraph is now reporting that the same plane did in fact crash, but it happened the day after the advert was shot.

The 48 foot tall installation was designed by Freestate and unveiled on the 16th of October 2007 as part of the broadcasters 25th anniversary celebrations. For more about the story behind the artwork read up on it here and here.

- Thanks for the photos Marc.

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Like everything Channel 4 does, they’ve managed to make their digital switchover campaign that bit more creative then the rest of the bunch. Not only have they dug up bizarre eighties television icon Max Headroom, they’ve paired him with Ewen Macintosh from The Office.

Max Headroom made his television debut in 1985, the same year I was born, so the reference is going a little over my head. The BBC however refers to Headroom as the “original digital TV star” which makes him and his claim that “the future is here” a highly original and wry choice for Channel 4’s campaign.

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I realise I’m probably giving this show a disproportionate amount of attention, especially considering I’m not even sure I like it, but its always had fairly cool promos, and really, at least it looks interesting, something thats been lacking lately on Australia’s prime time schedule… Whacked Out Sports? Really?!

Skins starts from season one tonight on SBS, and a new season starts soon on E4.

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Channel 4 relaunched the branding of its digital sibling E4 last Monday with five new idents and a refreshed on-air look. Above are four of the new idents (will post the fifth when I find it). The concept needs a bit of explanation, but unlike some other idents, these seem to make some sense. Basically they are meant to;

transform a typically British scene – such as a barn, a beach hut or a hotel – into a “deranged E4 space” where the “weird and wonderful colourfully unfolds”

Thats the word from the networks senior producer anyway. Whatever they are meant to be, they will probably appeal to the networks target audience, and really can a network that plays this much free-to-air Scrubs be all that bad? An example of a new look promo is after the jump, so..

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- Big thanks to Andy and Craig for the videos.

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Channel Four’s long running, and very creative series of idents got a new addition recently. This one, taking place on a roller coaster won’t go down as my favorite of the collection, but stays true to the formula and is impeccably produced.

Check out the entire collection here, including special Simpsons and Killers idents.

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Skins is a British teen drama whose first series was broadcast earlier this year on Channel 4’s hip digital sibling E4 to some of the networks highest ratings. In Australia the show is set to air Mondays at 10pm on SBS over summer.

Having only watched the pilot episode when the show first launched, and breaking my own oft-proselytised rule of at least watching a second episode before giving up on a show, I don’t have much to contribute review wise about the show..

For an actual review of the show though, from someone whose watched it, and almost convinced me to give it another chance, check out Triple J’s film critic’s thoughts about it here. And I tend to agree that ABC2 needs to score some content like this to help build an identity for itself, Peep Show was a good start, but it needs more.

- Much belated thanks for the video Craig.

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British public service broadcaster Channel 4 is turning 25 this year, and along with other celebrations More4 is broadcasting a “quietly celebratory, but not uncritical” documentary about itself called Channel 4 at 25.

Within the documentary some moments in the broadcasters identity were relived, and this is what I’m sharing today. The first video is a special montage ident merging the various looks that the network has had over the past quarter century. The next video relives the first moments of the channel on air, and the final video is a recreation of the original ident that made such a big splash when it first launched.

Channel 4 continues to make some of the best on air branding, check out their current set of idents, their special Simpson’s ident, the 20 questions collection and Judi Dench in a lobster costume spruiking FilmFour.

- Thanks for the videos Craig.

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Four more videos from Channel 4’s “interrupted” series. Check out the whole collection here.

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The Simpson’s have made their idents debut! Just a few hours ago this Gracie Films (shhh) produced trail made its first run on Channel 4 in the UK.

As reported by the BBC, the ident is timed for the start of a new season on Channel 4, and of course the families upcoming feature length outing.

Check out all the C4 idents here, and The Killers own ident here.

This isn’t the first time The Simpson’s have collaborated with Channel 4 though, to download Marge’s alternative Christmas message from 2004, keep reading..

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Channel 4 have been running an alternative Christmas message since 1993, to read more about it check out the Wikipedia article here.

- Thanks Craig.

Update: Download the broadcast MPEG2 of the ident here. (17.9mb)

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What do you hate? Thats the question that Channel 4 asks, then slices together with a set up prank as part of what I’ve dubbed their new ..interrupted series. I have no clue who the celebrity in question is sorry, so maybe someone can fill me in.

In other C4 news though, 4Creative is holding a competition to design a new 15 second ident, so if you think you have an idea worthy of joining this bunch of idents you can find out what you need to do to enter right here.

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Channel 4 relaunched five of their 20 questions idents last week. I say “relaunched” because they mix original footage from the idents, with set-ups done with various celebrities.

As for whats in the videos above, here’s a bit of a rundown:

1 – Dermot O’Leary telling us about his first car.. just as something happens to it.

2 – David Threlfall struggling to answer the question ‘what would change if you could start over again’.

3 – Alan Carr on the plight of the third world.

4 – Justin Lee Collins and a burning house.

5 – Alan Dale and an Australian fan.

6 – Russell Brand getting hit by a comet.

7 – Charlotte Church is a robot!

I’ll add any more of the ..interrupted idents here if I can get them. But for now check out the rest of the “normal” versions here.

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Big Brother launches its eighth season today in the UK. Broadcast on Channel 4 and E4, the show suffered some worse publicity than usual earlier this year with accusations of racism and bullying saw the shows major sponsor, The Carphone Warehouse drop out of the latest season, only to be replaced by Virgin Media.

The redesigned logo in the above promos have been described as a “centrifugal inter-locking RGB rainbow test card”.. which will apparently make sense at some point during the show.

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Channel 4 are still asking celebrities questions it seems, and their still splicing their answers into a very cool, less forced use of a networks on air talent. This time they’re asking what the first song they bought was. Unlike the other videos in this series, this one includes some of the cast of Ugly Betty, which is hopefully a sign that they intend to continue to update these, because for reasons I can’t define, I just love these.

To see; favourite swear, favourite invention and happiest moment click here and please let me know if you see anymore on air I don’t already have.

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Big thanks to Graham and Craig, who within minutes of each other both sent me the latest (and perhaps coolest) Channel 4 ident. And who am I to deny you seeing both?

I definitely prefer these semi-plausible ones over some of the others, but until something better comes along, the whole series is still some of the best stuff happening on TV. Watch the other 14 idents in the series here.

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As I’ve mentioned before it was literally an episode of Dead Ringers that first introduced me to the BBC One idents, so its probably that hilarious show I have to thank for even starting this site.

Series seven of the show started last week in the UK, and above is the parodied idents from the first episode.

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The beach, the waves, the rocks, a plug for Ugly Betty.. another awesome ident from Channel 4. See the entire collection of Channel 4 idents (including this one) here.

If you happen to have any of the ones I’m missing (sofa?), please email me.

Favourite swear..

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Happiest moment..

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Favourite invention..

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First song..

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Update 27/5/07: Added “First song” video.

These three videos are part of a larger series asking the stars of Channel 4 shows twenty questions with each video being a collection of their answers. Celebrities featured in these include the stars of Six Feet Under, The West Wing, Scrubs, Lost, Desperate Housewives and The OC.

These videos are easily some of my favourite things I’ve ever posted on this blog. Channel 4 are just awesome at the stuff they can get their talent to do, whether its Judi Dench in a lobster costume or the cast of Lost in a Western they go to so much trouble.

If anyone has anymore videos from this series please email me.

- Thanks Craig and Jody for the vids.

(Download the DVPAL of the swearing video here, its only 281mb.)

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This new Channel 4 ident doesn’t quite follow the same formula as most of the others in the series, but makes creative use of the “4″.

See the entire collection of Channel 4 idents (including this one) here.

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Forgive me if you’re not as into The Killers as I am, but along with Bloc Party they were the first bands I got introduced to on my tentative journey into defining my musical taste, so the release of their sophomore album, Sam’s Town is kind exciting to me.

This promo is for the Killers Weekend on Channel 4 (which is going on right now in the UK), and after getting Sam’s Town yesterday the tune they’re whistling seems to be from the albums bookends, Enterlude and Exitlude.

(Thanks Lee for the video)

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Ok, so maybe its a bit much to suggest jtv is being groomed for its own digital television station, but it would be cool, and like these BBC and Channel 4 signposts show there is an exciting world of multichanneling to be had, once people start buying set top boxes, and decent content arrives.

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The newest of the Channel 4 idents, this one set in a dockyard.

I’ve since added it to the original post, so short of a new one being made in the last week see the entire collection here.

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The first video is an extended promo for Film4 announcing that the channel will available for free, and the second video is a very funny and fairly random promo for the same thing featuring Judi Dench and Ewan McGregor.

Maybe there is some context I’m missing for the second video, or maybe its just meant to be that random/surreal kind of thing, either way, I likes.

Update: get some context after the jump courtesy of YouTube.

Another Update: it turns out these promos were directed by Kevin Spacey.

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Last month I assembled what I thought was the complete collection of the current Channel 4 idents, apparently I was missing this one however.

I’ve since added it to the original post, so short of a new one being made in the last few week see the entire collection here.

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Extended three minute promo for the More4 digital channel. West Wing, The Daily Show and Curb Your Enthusiasm, sounds cool.

“Unconvential programming to confront, inspire and entertain.”

“Freethinking television for intelligent minds.”

Just think of the multichanneling possibilities for Australia…